Question: Let $f(x) = -3x^{2}-8x+4$. Where does this function intersect the x-axis (i.e. what are the roots or zeroes of $f(x)$ )?
Answer: The function intersects the x-axis when $f(x) = 0$ , so you need to solve the equation: $-3x^{2}-8x+4 = 0$ Use the quadratic formula to solve $ax^2 + bx + c = 0$ $x = \dfrac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}$ $a = -3, b = -8, c = 4$ $ x = \dfrac{+ 8 \pm \sqrt{(-8)^{2} - 4 \cdot -3 \cdot 4}}{2 \cdot -3}$ $ x = \dfrac{8 \pm \sqrt{112}}{-6}$ $ x = \dfrac{8 \pm 4\sqrt{7}}{-6}$ $x =\dfrac{4 \pm 2\sqrt{7}}{-3}$